It Was Always You
by NicholtheDreamer
Summary: This is my first FanFic. It is set after season 4, Caroline is on Christmas break from college and decides to take a trip down to New Orleans to see how her favorite Original has been doing. What will happen when she finds out about Haley? Caroline must come to terms with her feelings for Klaus once and for all.
1. Chapter 1

Caroline Forbes did one last check of the dorm room to make sure she had everything. When she was finally convinced she had everything she locked the door and made her way down to her car where her best friend Elena Gilbert was waiting for her.

"Are we finally leaving?" Elena asked as Caroline sunk into the driver seat and fastened her seatbelt.

"I just wanted to make sure we weren't forgetting anything."

"We'll only be gone for a couple of weeks and it's only a few hours away. Come on care aren't you excited to go home for a bit? I know your mom will be happy to see you." Elena said when she saw the anxiety on Caroline's face.

"You know what you're right. Everything will still be here when we get back in January. I can't wait to spend the holidays with my friends."

That was enough to end the subject of going home. The rest of the way to Mystic Falls was filled with radio sing a longs and college gossip. Caroline tried to let any feelings of doubt about this holiday break dissolved into the back of her mind but it still crept up on her from time to time. While at college it was almost as if she was in a bubble. She had thrown herself into several clubs and organizations, two of which she was already made president of. She passed all of her classes with flying colors. She even formed a friendship with Jesse.

After Jesse had stop coming on to her a strong friendship quickly fell into place. Elena told her she was out of her mind for not giving him a chance. That that was what college was for. She got it though. Jesse was hot and smart and funny and everything Caroline was attracted to but she wasn't ready to take that step yet. It had been two months since Tyler more or less dumped her through voicemail. She isn't sure what she was waiting on. Maybe for Tyler to just show up at her dorm room and apologize for keeping her waiting, grab her around the waist and engulf her in a passionate fiery kiss, and say he'll never leave her again.

That was not going to happen. She knew that. And now she and Elena were back on the way to Mystic Falls. But what was really waiting for them there? Bonnie had more or less disappeared, her mom and Matt were constantly working, and Elena would be joined at the hip to Damon. She knew Stefan had been in Mystic Falls while they were off to college but would be leaving shortly after they got there. It was still too hard for him to be around Elena and Damon. Caroline understood. She had to try very hard to keep from barfing everything they started with the lovey dovey crap.

So she was going to be by herself which was not good thing of late. But to keep up the rue for the sake of her friend Elena she would put on a happy face. Just because she had been through a lot lately didn't mean she had to drag Elena down with her. Elena's life was finally looking up. For once there was no one trying to kill her, her brother was alive again, and she had finally made a choice between the Salvatore brothers, albeit the wrong one but still a choice.

_Welcome to Mystic Falls_

The sign told them they were back home. As they drove through the town, a flood of relief washed over Caroline. It was still the same. Even though so much had happened last time she was here, it was still home. Yes it was missing a few people but it was home.

"Are you sure you don't want to come in for a bit?" Elena asked as she got her bag out of the trunk.

"And watch Damon jump all of you? I'll pass." Caroline teased her. She hugged her friend and watched her go into the massive boarding house.

She turned to get in her car when she felt a breeze rush past her.

"Hello." She called out.

She scanned the area but saw nothing. She fumbled with her key and inched back towards her car as she continued to look around. She turned to open her car door when she was gathered up into a bear hug.

"I can't breathe Stefan." She giggled as the strong arms released her and she was face to face with her friend Stefan Salvatore.

"I haven't seen you in two months, I couldn't help myself." Stefan reached over and opened the car door for her. "Care to join me for lunch Caroline?"

She smile and stepped into the car. They drove down to the grill and got a table for two. They spent the majority of lunch talking about college, Caroline's new experiences and the many past college experiences Stefan has had. Stefan teased her about her new friendships. _Figures you would go off and replace me, _he'd say.

"So how have you been?" Caroline asked.

Stefan sighed. He knew the one person who could see right through him was Caroline. It was only a matter of time.

"I'm getting through it. Damon is my brother and he deserves to be happy. I just have to come to terms with the fact Elena isn't the one." Stefan tried to keep the resolve in his voice. The look on his face told Caroline otherwise.

Caroline smiled at his attempt to fool her."Elena loves you. She may be the one just not the one right now. But on the brightside all a vampire has is time. Maybe until then it is a smart idea to get out there and have some fun."

"Fun?" questioned Stefan.

"Yes wild crazy nights, breakfast at a French café, a Journey concert, anything but broody depressed Stefan."

Stefan let out a loud laugh. "And what about you? It's been two months since Tyler and you've shut down Jesse. What are you waiting for?"

Caroline didn't have an answer. Stefan reached over and grabbed her hand. "Tyler is an idiot. You deserve someone who will make you happy."

Caroline couldn't help but smile. "What would I do without you, Stef. I will try to get back out there as well. It will be our pack to each other. We will learn from the past and always keep moving forward."

They shook on it.

"So what are your plans while you're in town?" Stefan asked.

"None. Bonnie's gone. Matt and my mom are constantly working, and I'm allergic to Damon and Elena. I can't help but get the urge to vomit when they're around."

"You could always join me on a road trip…through Europe. Wake up and have breakfast in a French café." Stefan teased her.

"I'd highly recommend La Mer à Boire." Said a voice from behind them.

Stefan and Caroline looked up to find Matt walking up from behind them. Caroline jumped out of her chair and threw her arms around Matt. Caroline pulled away from him and looked Matt up and down. Something was different about him. Happier maybe? Then it clicked.

"How do you know about a café in France?" she questioned.

All he could do was smirk. Caroline playfully hit his arm. "Someone went on a trip with an original vampire."

Matt held his hands up. "I'm not saying anything."

"You went around the world and I don't even get to hear about it? College seems so small now." She pouted. "Why would you even come back to this place?"

"Well I do have a life here still, and plus Behak had something come up in New Orleans, I think I heard her say."

Caroline's heart skipped a beat. She tried her hardest not to think of Klaus these past couple of months. She knew he must still be in New Orleans if that was where Rebekah went.

"Did she say what she was doing there?"

Stefan gave her a look.

"No." Matt answered. "But hey I'm about to start my lunch shift. I'll call later so we can hang out." He hugged her and told Stefan bye, and walked off.

"I guess you haven't kept in touch with Klaus." Stefan prodded.

Caroline scoffed at him. "Why would I?"

"Denial is not just a river in Africa, Caroline. The guy was in love with you. And as much as I hated him a year ago, I have to say he really came through for us at graduation." said Stefan.

Caroline replayed his words over in her head. _Tyler maybe your first love, but I intend to be your last. _She sighed. Why do the worst guys always know the right things to say?

"Klaus is… just Klaus. What am I suppose to do go show up on his door step and ask him out for a cup of coffee?"

When Stefan didn't say anything Caroline stared at him. "That was a joke, Stefan."

"Well you did say you had nothing to do here in Mystic Falls." He countered.

"I can't believe you would suggest that."

"I didn't. You did."

Caroline quickly changed the subject after that. They went on for what seemed like hours until they finally got up to leave.

"So where are you going after this?" Caroline asked.

Stefan shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe spend the winter in a cabin in Colorado. Hit the slopes some; chop some fire wood, the usual."

"I miss you Stefan. Don't forget our deal. I want updates you have my number."

They hugged and Caroline got into her car and drove home.

She got home and carried her bag up to her room. She had intended to unpack and settle in but found herself pacing around the room, looking at all of her knickknacks from high school and childhood. She let the memories come back to her as she held each one.

She walked over to her dresser and looked at all the pictures of her and her friends. God she missed Bonnie. Her hand moved over to her jewelry box and felt a piece of rolled up paper beside it. She carefully picked it up and unrolled it. It was a picture of her standing beside a horse. It was beautiful. At the bottom it read, _Thank you for your honesty, Klaus. _She held the picture and just stared at the detail for several minutes.

She took a deep breath. She grabbed her unpacked bag and raced down stairs. She wrote out a note telling her mom she'd be back in a few days and ran out of the house to her car.

She moved as quickly as she could to her car and set the GPS. If she stopped for a moment she'd chicken out and turn around.

_New Orleans, 940 miles _the GPS rang out.

Caroline took one last breath as she hit the gas pedal. It was only a cup of coffee right?


	2. Chapter 2

The drive left a lot of time for Caroline's mind to wonder. She turned around twice to go home before the nagging voice in her head that kept calling her a coward got the better of her. She reasoned with herself. Even if Klaus was a bust it was New Orleans. She could party on Bourbon St, watch the parades, hell even get her palm read. As if a real witch would read her palm.

She thought of the city and the lights but for the most part all she thought about was Klaus. She had gone over at least 20 ways the conversation could go. To be honest she didn't really know what to except. They hadn't spoken since graduation; she didn't even really know why he was in New Orleans to begin with. She knew it was his home once, she knew Elijah was there with him and now Rebekah. Something had to be going on.

Maybe he had forgotten about her. You can only turn a guy down so many times right? What frustrated her most, was that most of her anger towards him was due to the feud between him and Tyler. Klaus finally allowed Tyler to come back and Tyler just takes a pass. She felt like an idiot. She had been so quick to pass judgment on Klaus when really he wasn't guilty of anything any of the Scooby gang hadn't done as well.

She herself had killed several people in the past and regardless of the reason behind it they were still dead. She considered Stefan her best friend and even he was a ripper long before Klaus came and brought it back out of him. If she can forgive Stefan and the others for all the things they had done in the past then why not Klaus.

_Take exit 236C for Saint Bernard Avenue._

Caroline made up her mind. It was time for a clean slate. She would no longer hold Klaus' past against him; she would go talk to him. He would either be the egotistical jerk Klaus or the say all the right things in his sexy English accent Klaus. If anything she would walk away with no regrets.

She swallowed hard as her GPS announced she was a mile away from her destination. It was easy to spend 14 hours thinking about what you were going to say and then actually saying it. She saw the streets were getting overcrowded with people and parked her car down a side street and walked the rest of the way.

She finally made it to a busy intersection and looked up. _Bourbon Street. _That was precisely where she wanted to end up. Even though she was a vampire this was the furthest she had ever been from home. All she knew about New Orleans was Mardi Gras and Bourbon Street. Caroline figured if she was looking for someone this would be the best place to start.

She started walking down the street. It was lined with old bars and pubs, even a voodoo shop that already had a crowd of people outside of it. She thought of Bonnie and how she would have loved a place like this. She could almost feel magic moving around her. Bonnie was a problem for another day though. So she kept moving down the sidewalk. Most of the restaurants were just opening. It was noon and she hadn't eaten since the grill yesterday with Stefan.

She stopped inside a small pub and found a seat at the bar.

"What can I get for you?" A blonde bartender asked.

"Just a burger with fries."

"Anything to drink?"

"Yea, a Scotch and a glass of water, thanks." Caroline had a blood bag on the way down and several more in the car to last at least a few days but alcohol still helped with cravings and it would take the edge off.

The blonde looked at her questioningly. "Scotch really? I normally only serve that stuff to old men."

Caroline smiled. "I blame my best friend. He has some very old taste."

The girl poured the drink and set it in front of Caroline. "Here you go. Your food should be out in a minute. I'm Cami if you need anything."

"Cami, I'm actually looking for someone. A man about 5'9, short ginger blonde hair, with an English accent. He comes off as kind of an ass sometimes.

"Niklaus Mickealson, perhaps?" A handsome dark-skinned man sat down next to her.

Caroline tensed up at his sudden intrusion. She knew Klaus had very few friends and many enemies. Anyone who knew of Klaus personally probably fell into the latter category.

"I'll have the usual Cami." He smiled at the bartender.

"Coming right up, Marcel." She turned and walked back toward the kitchen.

The stranger then turned to Caroline. "What would someone as pretty as you want with Klaus?"

"He's an old acquaintance. I heard he was staying in New Orleans so I figured I'd drop in on him." She paused to get a read on the guy. "How do you know him?" 

The man smirked. "We go way back. In fact I'd say Klaus pretty much made me into the man I am today."

"By that you mean a vampire?" Caroline replied. The man's smirk turned into a full smile and he let out a laugh.

"You're smart. I like that. Klaus is a friend so you can relax. Any friend of Klaus if a friend of mine."

Caroline didn't for a minute let her guard down though. She had been captured and tortured way too many times not to be wary of strange vampires proclaiming themselves friends. The waitress came back with their food and Marcel ordered them both another round of scotch.

"Now I know everything there is to know about this city. This city is somewhat a Mecca for vampires now. No werewolves, no witchy spells, just an all you can eat party that never ends."

"Well I prefer blood bags but I could do without seeing a werewolf ever again." Caroline retorted. She was getting a bad vibe from this guy but he knew Klaus so she would play along for now.

"Normally vampires don't make it out of run-ins with werewolves. You're either extremely tough or incredibly lucky."

"Neither. Ex-boyfriend. I don't want to talk about it."

Marcel leaned in closer to her. "I get it now. You're into the dangerous guys. That must be why you're here for Klaus."

"No." Caroline yelled out before regaining her composure. "I mean no. Werewolves can be dangerous but that doesn't mean they are automatically enemies. And I'm really just here to catch up."

"This werewolf, did he break your heart?"

Caroline's head snapped up. What type of question was that to ask a stranger? Even more so since she didn't have an answer to it. It hurt when Tyler left her that voicemail then ignored all her calls. She loved Tyler. But he had already been gone without word for several months. She knew it should feel like a heartbreak but after the initial shock it almost felt like it had long before that.

Marcel took her silence in for a moment."Look sweetheart, this is my address;" he grabbed a napkin and began to write on it."I will be having a party tonight at sun down, and I will ensure Klaus' attendance."

Caroline smiled at him; rather she could trust the man or not remained to be seen. But for now he served a purpose so she would play his game.

"Only," he continued. Here it was. Caroline kicked herself for thinking this would be easy."If you tell me your name."

She waited for more but when nothing else followed she extended her hand. "Caroline."

"Caroline. I will see you soon." And with that the man left the bar.

Caroline quickly finished her food and paid. She asked Cami for directions to the nearest hotel and grabbed the napkin with the address on it and made her way back out to the street. The hotel was a few blocks down so she doubled back to her car and drove there. She was exhausted from the drive so she booked a room overlooking the busy street. She decided she would look absolutely gorgeous tonight and that would never happen without sleep.

Marcel made his way thru the crowd of street performers and their audiences. There were fake witches giving out fortunes, musicians on trumpets and guitars, and finally a lonely street artist. Marcel watched him as he calculated every precise brush stroke. It was a picture of a field of flowers.

"I'll never get why you get so much joy from this, Klaus." Marcel said as he continued to watch.

"It's called culture. I wouldn't expect you to get it." The artist smirked and continued painting,

Marcel walked over and picked up his sketch book. He leaned against a nearby rail and flipped thru the pages.

"Yea but why do it out here like a common peddler. I know for a fact you have hundreds of paintings scattered throughout museums around the world."

"It gives me inspiration I guess."

Marcel stopped on a page filled with light pencil etchings. They were all of a girl. They were all of Caroline.

"Hey I know her." Marcel began.

Klaus walked over to him and looked at the page. "You don't, I assure you." And he snatched the book away from him.

"Caroline, right?"

Klaus froze in place and his eyes narrowed slightly. He waited for an explanation.

"I just met her down at the pub. Nice girl. I told her to come by the house later." Marcel eyes stayed locked onto Klaus, analyzing his every move.

Klaus smiled. "You don't say. Well you two have a great night then. If you don't mind I have some pointless street peddling to get back to." He turned around, sketchbook still tightly held in his hand, and looked back at his previous work.

Marcel pushed himself off the rail. "Oh, I plan on it. She's a spitfire that one. I'm sure we'll have a lot of fun together." Marcel focused his hearing and barely made out the grinding of Klaus' teeth. Satisfied with the response he made his way back down the busy street.

Klaus waited till Marcel was out of sight to open the sketchbook. He paused for a few seconds taking in the beautiful image of Caroline. He didn't need the sketch to recall her though. Every detail of her face was etched into his mind already. He had spent many sleepless nights thinking of her. He would daydream about showing her the city. He would fantasize about her reactions to the different foods and the music. His dream was to show her his home. But he had always figured that would be well down the road after she went thru all the notions of a human life and still craved more. He knew she would seek him out eventually.

But why now? Why so soon? She had only spent two months in college. That surely wasn't enough time for her to change her mind. And Haley. Klaus slapped his hand over his forehead. Caroline didn't know. Only him, his siblings, and the witches knew. He rolled his eyes as he went thru that conversation in his head.

Well there wasn't anything to be done about that now. He packed up his easel and put his brushes away. He left the painting sitting by the railing. With all his stuff in hand he quickly started off in the same direction Marcel had gone. He had a very important party to get ready for.


End file.
